The Key Causes Of High Blood Pressure

The causes of high blood pressure are numerous, and often controllable. High blood pressure, or HBP, which is also called hypertension, means that there's a high amount of pressure within the arteries of your heart. Arteries are the vessels that carry blood from the heart to each of the cells in your body.

A normal blood pressure range is below 120/80. If blood pressure is a bit over this, but is under 139/89, this is considered pre-hypertension. Anything above this is considered high blood pressure.

High
blood pressure is not an emotional state. Rather, it's a physical level
of pressure that builds within your body. However, emotions and stress
can cause blood pressure to increase, which in turn can lead to a variety of illnesses and complications.

By understanding what causes high blood pressure, doctors can provide you with an effective treatment.

Essential Hypertension

To explore the causes of this condition, you need to understand the two different types of hypertension, essential (or primary) and secondary hypertension.

Essential hypertension makes up about 95 percent of all cases.

There are numerous causes of essential hypertension. Generally, it's a variety of factors that leads to this diagnosis of hypertension in an individual. According to some reports, more than 72 million people in the United States alone suffer from this form of hypertension. However, the causes are not often known.

They may include:

Stress

Salt intake

Sugar

Hereditary factors

Hardening of the arteries

Secondary Hypertension

The second type of hypertension is secondary hypertension, which accounts for about 5 percent of all cases
of high blood pressure. In these individuals, the causes for the
condition are generally abnormalities found in one or the organs of the
body or one of the systems of the body.

For example, an abnormality in
the formation of the heart will lead to increased pressure within its
arteries. Common disorders occur in the kidneys, adrenal glands or the
aortic artery.

Identifying Causes Of High Blood Pressure

The causes of high blood pressure are rarely
discussed with doctors, since they can often be a combination of
factors. Rather, doctors often put more attention into reducing blood pressure, which helps to ensure that the heart is not over taxed or that the arteries do not burst.

However,
by understanding the cause of the condition, doctors can specify the
right treatment for the patient. This often involves diagnostic testing
and carefully understanding the lifestyle of the individual. With or
without these causes, there are many treatment options available for high blood pressure.